1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display apparatus for a vehicle, in particular, to a display apparatus for a vehicle having an LCD display.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-241626 discloses a display apparatus 1 for a vehicle having a ring-shaped separator 53 movably disposed in front of a display screen of an LCD display for surrounding a part of the display screen.
As shown in FIG. 1, the ring-shaped separator 53 is disposed on the display apparatus 1. The separator 53 is movable between positions shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Even while the separator is moved, the display image 56 displayed in the separator 53 is visible in a specific image quality. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the images displayed on the area except the area surrounded by the separator 53 can be changed. For example, FIG. 1 shows an oil pressure meter area 62, an oil temperature meter area 63, a fuel meter area 64, and a water temperature meter 65, while FIG. 2 shows a bar indicator 66.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the separator 53 is movable owing to a transferring mechanism 67. The transferring mechanism 67 includes a folded frame 68, a motor 69, and a transmission 70 for transmitting the driving force of the motor 69 to the folded frame 68. As shown in FIG. 3, the transmission 70 includes a gear 70a fixed to a rotating shaft of the motor 69, a gear 70b engaged with the gear 70a, a pinion 70d to which a rotation of the gear 70b is transmitted by a belt 70c, and a rack 70e for converting the rotation to a linear motion parallel to a major axis.
However, there is a problem that a noise occurs when the separator 53 is moved, because the gears 70a, 70b and pinion 70d are engaged with each other and rotated by the motor 69. Further, quality of the display image 56 when the separator 53 is moved is required to be improved.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a quiet display apparatus for a vehicle with a high quality display image.